An Eighth Shot of Espresso: Coffee and Creativity on Mum's Third Shift

bouncy ball  a favorite toy  of Fido's  that sits  in the corner  a solitary beam of sunlight touch it in highest reverence twenty years  after his paws  touched it for  the first time  teeth marks  doggy drool tail wagged as he chased it to and fro spring days spent in the yard happy barks and an idyllic childhood it's been years and yet it stays  immortalized.

Throw a stone  into the river hear the splash as it sinks to the bottom as gravity pulls it down watch as  the ripples  spread out from the point of contact  and the waves  grow larger  the farther  they go  the perfect mirror shattered every reflection  marred by the touch. Do you recognize your twisted features in the aftermath?

cup of coffee  gone cold  forgotten  in the bustle  of life  and then  when it is  drunk  it sits bitter  in your mouth pastry half-eaten sits on a tiny plate crumbs  on the desk where the screen glows brightly and words refuse to flow.

What does  your fortune tell you?  Do you believe   in that sort of thing?  My Chinese grandmother  consults the Tao Te Ching  my best friend pulls out  her tarot cards  Do the stars  really shape  who you become? Is it all already written? Or do you struggle against the flow of time and defy the tide of a concrete fate?

whimsical humor  suppressed for years  I was too frivolous too loud and too obnoxious way too much for such a quiet and retiring personality there was too much to do bills to pay children to raise jobs to perform I learned not to laugh so loud or stand out in a crowd because that made him uncomfortable but now that more  than five decades have passed I've decided that  I am too old  to not enjoy life  and become  the person I was  meant to be

blood is life  and an obligation  when loyalty  is placed above reason  the family banner  unfurls over your existence  and casts a long shadow  an intangible sense of honor becomes all encompassing and a way to ensure power is in the correct hands when your fate is already written in the stars how do your actions make a difference? At least that's what they tell you. Only when the balance tips way too far and life becomes too intolerable do things change A righteous tradition  is not always a just one.